Litomysl

Litomysl Renaissance Chateau

On the road at 9:45, we headed east out of Nachod, wanting to see the green hills along the Czech/Polish border.  This is pretty countryside with some farming and small towns, heavily wooded in parts, and even a ski resort.  Very little traffic on the mainly well-maintained roads, though we did encounter a difficult stretch under repair. Looked like a semi-major tourist destination site for east europeans, without the tourists.

evening performance (with an interesting alterpiece)

Our destination was Litomysl, a smallish town touted by Lonely Planet for its Cultural Heritage components--Renaissance Castle, large town square and other historic buildings.  Arriving at 1:30, we found a hotel (which turns out to be not as comfortable as we would like for the inflated price we are paying), ate lunch on a bench nearby along the stream, took our afternoon nap, and set out to see some of the town in late afternoon.

The town's claim to fame is a striking Renaissance chateau, built in the mid-16th century.  It is currently undergoing extensive renovation, so was not available for tours.  The large main square and several churches also caught our interest.  One church was the site of a concert, and we stopped by for the first (classical) half--Corelli, Vivaldi, Purcell.  Wonderful!  We left at the break and headed next door for a beer.  This was the hotel/restaurant touted in the Lonely Planet, and for once we opted to have dinner!!!  What a fantastic meal (please forgive our food photos--these are for ourselves as we remember the trip years from now).  Two fine meals, and two large beers--tab: $28.